I have to say I’ve been distracted by the entire Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) council fiasco. This included the final report and meeting being cancelled at the “very last minute.”

While that was ongoing there was this news that I almost missed completely, Mass. federal judge orders FEMA to restore billions in canceled disaster mitigation funding 

Why do emergency managers, and others, need to understand what is happening with the electrical grid of today? Basically, our modern society does not function without electricity and the critical infrastructure interdependencies that are associated with electricity, its production, transmission and consumption are significant.

Living here in the Pacific Northwest I’ve received a number of communications from friends and family, inquiring if everything is OK with the Holdeman’s. Yes, we are all fine is the answer.

A few thoughts on the subject of national incidents and how they portray a disaster. When the World Trade Organization (WTO) Riots happened in downtown Seattle, the impression was that the entire city was in chaos—to those not present. It is true, there wasn’t much of a commute or downtown business activity, but the rest of the city and the northwest was calm.

The President and Secretary of Homeland Security have repeatedly stated that they intend to shift more responsibility for disaster costs to the states. With that in mind, the podcast below looks at the readiness of states to absorb those increased disaster costs.  I also need to highlight that the council that was to have met on 12/11/25 had the meeting cancelled at the last moment, even after people had traveled from across the country and arrived for the meeting. Even Secretary Noem was caught off guard by the last-minute cancellation.  

Disaster Zone Podcast: Disaster Costs Will Put State Budgets at Risk

The most lethal weapon on the battlefield in the Ukraine and Russian conflict are armed drones that can target individuals and vehicles of all types. The employment of these devices was not on the combat drawing board as of three years ago.

In an interesting turn of events, we have the judicial system stepping in to overturn a decision by the Trump Administration to kill the Building Resilience Infrastructure Communities (BRIC) program (that was established in the first Trump Administration—go figure).

For readers of this blog you will know that I’ve been trying to follow events around the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the council that was to issue its report today.

The idea of home owners considering the risks that hazards present “before” they purchase a home is something I’ve covered repeatedly in the past. It should not be all about stainless steel kitchens, granite and a fenced backyard for the dog.

I’m sharing this blog post the day before we get the long expected Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) council’s report on suggested reforms to the agency.

You might recall that earlier this year St. Louis had a tornado and an alert and warning was not issued by the emergency management agency of the city. Note, I’ve always warned about “not screwing up a warning.” Well, apparently the city leaders have gone back to an old model of having the fire department be in charge of emergency management for the city.

This article comes from The Hill and provides less detail on the purported changes being recommended or axed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but several “positive statements” from DHS spokespersons, Trump task force expected to propose changes to FEMA but doesn’t recommend eliminating it: Reports  I don’t expect to see any fireworks at the December 12^th meeting announcing the findings of the council. Most if not all of the membership are Republicans (or report in the case of the emergency management directors (FL & TX) to Republican governors.

Per the Washington Post, there is this article Noem at odds with Trump-appointed panel over future of FEMA

I just did an earlier blog post today about the date for the final report to be covered in a meeting (December 11^th) of the counsel that was appointed to review the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

There was this opinion piece in the Washington Post, Taiwan’s president: I will boost defense spending to protect our democracy

We finally have a date and time, Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council: Notice of Meeting  This is the Federal Register’s official announcement of the meeting.

I’ve been following the expected release of the Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) Council since its inception. The original report was due in October and now it looks like it will be delivered in December.  An article from the Associated Press highlights the fact that the DRAFT report has shrunk from 160 to about 20 pages. The reduction coming at the hands of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

It has been over 30 years since there was a “major earthquake.” The last one being the Northridge Earthquake in 1994  If you don’t know much about seismic retrofitting of buildings, this is the podcast for you.

The other day I had a television interview with a reporter. She asked me, “What is the standard for obtaining a Presidential Disaster Declaration?” My response was, “Today, I don’t know what that is.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is leaderless again, as David Richardson, FEMA Acting Administrator resigned November 17^th

Not that it matters that much. The agency has been adrift for months. There have been two “Acting Administrators” in 10 months, with one being fired (for contradicting the President and Secretary of Homeland Security about not getting rid of FEMA as an agency) and the other just now resigning. Both did not have backgrounds in emergency management—and it showed.

I’m sure another Department of Homeland Security (DHS) flunky will be sent down to “clean things up” until they can figure out what to do with FEMA. Standby for news!